Introduction
Affirmative action is the preferential treatment of people with a given background without consideration of merit. It can take the form of providing more college admissions to black people to rewrite past injustices or including more indigenous communities for grants to promote their development. There has always been a moral contention on affirmative action as some people passive it as a form of discrimination while others consider it justice for past mistakes. Central to John Rawl’s theory is the argument that the principle of justice that define human rights should rest on virtue or the best life (Sandel et al., 2009). Although affirmative action is sometimes perceived as discriminatory, it provides the means to rewrite past wrongs in availing equal opportunities and enhancing health completion in business.
Theoretical Underpinning
Rawl’s theory of justice states that all people should have a minimum set of rights and liberties, which makes them participate in society as full members. The first basic principle of the theory is equal basic liberties which include voting and eligibility for public office (Byars & Stanberry, 2018). The second is fair equality of opportunity, and the third is the principle of difference. Social-economic inequalities are organized in such a way that they are reasonably hoped to benefit all. Moreover, they are linked to offices and positions supposed to be occupied by all people. Thus, the expectations of people with the same abilities and skills should not be influenced by their social class.
Rationale for Implementing Affirmative Action
Affirmative action helps in providing relevant role models to people in the marginalized communities. For example, the president can decide to nominate one national political leader from the American Indian community if no one from the group has ever achieved such a position. The rationale is for a person coming from the same community to see the possibility of becoming future leader. Notably, if a person from the community is always seeing that all leaders are either Caucasians or blacks, they may think that it is impossible for their kin to ascend into power at that level.
In addition, adopting affirmative action can help select people that can best serve a marginalized community. Sometimes people from disadvantaged communities can gain more from a person who is not from their community. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some people from a given community did not want to receive the vaccine. However, when an expert from a different community was employed to teach on the benefits of immunization, they accepted. Thus, in cases where exposure to outside skills is relevant affirmative action can help choose the right person.
The other reason for embracing affirmative action is because it helps to compensate for past injustices and bring reconciliation. For example, the African Americans worked as slaves for many years without receiving any compensation. They did not even have the basic liberty to vote and live wherever they wanted, as supposed by Rawl for a fair society. They toiled in the sugarcane farms and did other work then, after the abolition of slavery, were given freedom without any reward for their labor. The implication is that blacks were always down the social and economic ranks. As Rawlsian justification argues, affirmative action can help rewrite the wrongs and enhance equal opportunities.
Moreover, affirmative action can help provide equal opportunities that past administrations failed to offer. For example, if recruitment of the police always employed tall people while short ones were left despite qualifications, the recruitment team can deliberately select shorter candidates. Giving people that were previously left out an opportunity is encouraging. Another example is offering university admissions to students who did not get the cut-off points and then training them to perform well in their profession.
Benefit of Affirmative Action in Business Environment
Affirmative action encourages diversity and multiculturalism in an organization. For instance, a company that only has white employees can decide to give priority to people from other ethnic background. Noteworthy, such enterprise with diversity is likely to be well-branded and receive customers across all communities. A multicultural team can perform better because different people bring different ideas for implementing and expanding the organization. Moreover, it can help ensure that the company promotes justice for all the employees and clients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, affirmative action seeks to enhance equity and justice in society. It gives a chance to establish role models. The affirmative action helps to positively influence behavior change for the disadvantaged population. Moreover, it provides a chance to enhance fairness and equity, as proposed in the Rawlsian theory. The implementation of affirmative action can help businesses through diversity and multiculturalism. Thus, affirmative action is a good practice in enhancing equity and remembering justice.
References
Byars, S. M., & Stanberry, K. (2018). Business ethics. OpenStax.
Sandel, M. J., Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. (2009). Justice: What’s the right thing to do? Macmillan.